1997 - Is appointed presidential professor at Santa Clara University, teaching a course called Studies in Public Policy.

1997-2003 - Serves on the Board of Directors of the New York Stock Exchange.

2000-2003 - Chairman of the Pew Oceans Commission.

2002 - Joins the National Review Board set up by the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops in the wake of priest sex abuse scandals.

2004 - Co-chair of the California Council on Base Support and Retention, which was established after the Department of Defense announced it would be realigning and closing military bases across the country.

2005 - Serves as a member of the Independent Task Force on Immigration and America's Future addressing illegal immigration.

2006 - Member of the Iraq Study Group tasked with assessing the U.S. effort in Iraq and making policy recommendations following their findings.

June 3-4, 2012 - Panetta travels to Vietnam and meets with Vietnam's Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh. They exchange letters and diaries that had been taken from dead soldiers on both sides during the Vietnam War.

January 24, 2013 - Announces the U.S. military will end its longstanding policy of excluding women from combat and open front-line units to female service members. January 2016 is the goal for all assessments to be complete and women to be integrated as much as possible.

February 20, 2013 - Panetta travels to Brussels, Belgium, for a meeting on ending the war in Afghanistan. It is his last international trip as secretary of defense.

October 7, 2014 - Publishes a memoir: Worthy Fights: A Memoir of Leadership in War and Peace, with Jim Newton.